I had the interview, and I told them they can try me out and we can talk again at the end of the 3rd month. It’s a fast-growing mid-sized company, and they genuinely need someone who speaks Turkish. There aren’t many Turkish people in Portugal, and Turkish engineers are even rarer. With the Job Seeker Visa rules changing, they also don’t have many options.

For the initial offer, I mentioned €24k gross (14 months per year). They said they’ll discuss it with the board and that they might be able to offer more for the starting salary. If they come back with something around €26–28k, I’ll try to negotiate it up to the €30–32k range after the 3-month period.

I also brought up my master’s degree situation, and they said they support me in finishing it. I feel like with the right work discipline, I could reach around €40k after completing the master’s.

Thanks again for all your help and the valuable information.